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Topic Review (Newest First)

12-13-2000 11:48 AM

juro

RE:John Gierach

Good point Brad - we really suck at playing God! That idea made no sense to me, nature already worked these things out over millions of years.

12-13-2000 09:42 AM

Brad

RE:John Gierach

I recently read that the release of fish with whirling disease by the state hatcheries was done as a step to introduce more genetic diversity into the wild trout stocks. The fish that were released did have the disease but seemed to tolerate WD well. As an example they cited the fact that the more diverse california rainbows are not affected by WD as hard as their eastern cousins. I cannot help but think of the cane toads that were introduced to australia to help control the cane beetle. The idea seemed good except the only problem was that the beetle lives in the top of the cane where the toads cannot reach them and the toads, which have no natural predators, have overrun many areas.

12-11-2000 05:50 PM

juro

RE:John Gierach

Yes, Gierach is a whimsical philosopher in his own right. There is a lesson we could all learn from the Lyons incident he cites.

Yet meaning no disrespect to John, I can't help but get a bit defensive when it comes to the welfare of rare indigenous species and stocked fish... I lose sleep at night if I get thinking about WD and native steelhead, cutthroat, etc. Sure, a holdover population might recover from a fresh stocking even if deadly parasites are involved, but a fish who swims a 7,000 mile circuit from a mountain spring creek to the Bering Sea and back can't afford another deadly force working against it. (end of obligatory serious note)

"Flyfishing is like golf but you can eat the balls" - JG.

12-11-2000 01:39 PM

isoh

RE:John Gierach

In <i>Standing in a River Waving a Stick</i> Gierach describes a recent season when the Colorado state hatchery guys released a whole slew of fish close to his home in Lyons that were infected with Whirling disease -- proof enough that bureaucratic incompetence can overcome even the best practices on the part of anglers.

But Gierach found the silver lining: while the rainbow fishing sucked that year, the brown trout fishing was better than it had been in decades. Crowds were down because not every pool held stockers and the browns started behaving more like wild fish. He describes it as fishing "the way it used to be." He went on to describe how the rainbows eventually recovered and things returned to normal.

Gierach takes the philosophical stance that the world is essentially made of $hit and that horrible things are bound to happen on a daily basis, and the best good people can hope for is to be pleasantly surprised by an exception to this rule.

I can't agree with this enough! Sometimes you gotta stop and smell the brown trout

12-11-2000 12:34 PM

juro

RE:John Gierach

Brad - Glad to hear Colorado is treating you well. Please be kind to us in the frozen regions of the world by posting early and often about your Eleven Mile adventures. Be extra nice by sending pictures!

Say, how is the Whirling Disease situation now?

12-11-2000 09:33 AM

Brad

RE:John Gierach

Juro, things are going really well out here. I decided to go fishing after all on saturday since it was in the high 40's and we were expecting a storm sunday, that we got. I hit the St. Vrain at some nice pools about 10 minutes from my house. The water was open but i did not see any fish. I scouted around a bit and will try again this spring. I think it is time to stick to the tailwaters. I started tying some of the small stuff that people prefer in cheesman. I have not tried to tie a 26 for maybe 10 years and it was tough. All the crap that i used to give an older friend of mine about not being able to see has come back to haunt me. I bought a ski pass at copper, 4 days for 49$, not a bad deal, i plan to hold off fishing for a time since i heard that the skiing is pretty good here. cheers

12-10-2000 08:34 PM

Lefty

RE:John Gierach

Wow! I'm a big fan of John's writing. I think he is a stunning writer fishing or not. Did he say he has done some striper fishing in the east? I keep waiting for the John Gierach of the east coast striper scene to emerge. I was actually hoping to get a glimpse of that sort of talent in our own writers guild here. Our scene is sitting there wide open waiting for a good writer to come along. If you haven't read John, run to your local library and get started. Tis the season.

Terry

12-09-2000 09:53 PM

juro

RE:John Gierach

So Brad - how the heck are you? How are things out there... tell it all, buddy!

12-09-2000 12:53 PM

Brad

John Gierach

I met John Gierach at the St Vrain this morning. I want to say that it was fishing on the river but that would not be the truth. He was at a signing of his latest book, Good Flies, at the St Vrain Angler in Longmont. We spoke breifly about fishing, when i told him that I was from MA his eyes lit up and we talked about striper fishing. "It is different from fishing around here but variety is what keeps us going" he said.